A Yankee Stadium cooling tower was among 10 that tested positive for Legionella in the South Bronx, the New York City Health department announced Sunday.
The city launched an investigation in Melrose and Morrisania after identifying a cluster of Legionnaires’ disease cases on September 10. As of Saturday, nine people were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease in connection with the cluster. Three people were hospitalized, four people were discharged, one person did not require hospitalization, and one person died, the health department said.
The cooling towers in zip codes, 10451 and 10456, were ordered to be cleaned, drained and disinfected by Monday to reduce the risk of exposure as the city looks to conduct more tests.
Among sites that tested positive included Lincoln Hospital and Boricua College.
24 cooling towers in total were tested in the South Bronx.
The cooling towers tested positive through an initial PCR test. Health officials said the test can detect the presence of Legionella bacteria but cannot determine whether the bacteria is the source of exposure.
NYC Health Commissioner Alister Martin reached out to people in the South Bronx in hopes of informing them of the Legionnaires symptoms.
“So we want people to know the signs and symptoms, cough, fever, shortness of breath. Call your doctor,” Martin said.
The Bronx cluster follows an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease on the Upper East Side that claimed 11 lives and infected 94 people over the summer.
A screening of 160 buildings on the Upper East Side found Legionella bacteria, the microbe responsible for spreading the disease, in at least 77 cooling towers, including at the Guggenheim Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Most people exposed to the bacteria don’t become sick. The disease is contracted by breathing in water vapor, not spread from person to person, officials said.